Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel handed down the sentence yesterday on the two Chinese men who stood before her in the All Saints Magistrates’ Court.

The men, through an interpreter, changed their initial plea to guilty, after the charges were put to them a second time for uttering a Chinese passport containing a forged Canadian visa, and fraud.

The men were nabbed at VC Bird International Airport, on October 1, attempting to board a flight with fake Canadian visas in their passports.

Jianming admitted to fraud, while Qianqian, acknowledged he uttered a Chinese passport containing a forged visa. Both claimed they “are victims”.

Reports indicate the men had been travelling the world since departing China on July 25. Their stops included

Thailand and Dominica before arriving here on September 14.

The duo claimed they were met by an unnamed individual who took them to a hotel. However, they don’t recall the location or the name of the property.

The duo claims their passports were taken by the unidentified individual. When the travel documents were returned they said the documents contained the fake visa along with one-way tickets to Canada.

A West Jet Airlines supervisor, who processed the men for a Canada-bound flight, realised the irregularities with the visa. A check with the Canadian Border Security confirmed the visa was not authentic.